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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Does Your Dog Eat Vegetables?


My sister rescued this dog from the streets of Los Angeles about a month ago.  She took him to a shelter first, where she learned that due to over-capacity issues, the shelter would most likely have to euthanize any new dogs that didn't get adopted out within a few days.  Well, that was completely unacceptable to her, so she did everything she could to try to find the dog's owner.  She put up flyers.  She put up ads.  She went door to door in her neighborhood.  When none of that worked, she then tried to find a new adoptive family for this dog.  When that also didn't work, she went back to the shelter and adopted the dog herself, intending to extend his life while she kept looking for a suitable new family for the dog.  But then she got attached to the dog.  So she named him Wilson (like the "lost" volleyball from the movie Cast Away), and she's now keeping him for herself.


Wilson is a mutt, but apparently he looks most like a Shiba Inu. Yeah, he's a cutie, and he has an adorable pink spot right above his nose.

I met Wilson for the first time while I was back in California about two weeks ago.  Compared to all the other dogs I've known well in my life, Wilson is very well behaved, quick to learn commands, and rather easy-going.  For example, my sister trained him to sit outside her kitchen while she's in there, so that he wouldn't get in the way and beg for food.  And when she brought him over to our mom's house, she taught him to do the same thing outside my mom's kitchen, which he learned to do in just one day.  If Wilson ever met Reese (one of our dogs in Indiana), Reese would ask, "but how would you ever eat anything that fell on the floor during chopping or cooking, if you're just sitting outside the kitchen?"

Speaking of eating, this dog eats VEGETABLES!

After I pulled some girthy carrots from my mom's garden, I brought one in the room to show my sister.  Wilson seemed a bit curious about the carrot, so I tore up some green carrot top and gave it to him, fully expecting him to sniff and turn his nose at it.  But to my surprise, he looked, he sniffed, he touched, and then he ate it!




He looks like he's sleeping in this picture, but he's not.  His eyes are closed because either he was straining himself to tear a bite-size piece from the carrot top, or the camera flash scared him. 

I took him with me to the backyard to harvest more vegetables, and he ate everything I gave him.  He ate some sugar snap peas, zucchini, lettuce and carrots.  His only issue was that he wanted me to cut/slice them into bite sized pieces, like he didn't want to go through the trouble of breaking down the food himself.  What a (cute) weirdo.

"I'm ignoring you."

"Oh, you have more vegetables for me?"

"I'm going back to sleep."

32 comments:

Kimmi said...

HA! This cracked me up!! Wilson is such a cutie. To answer your question, yes, my dog eats vegitables. But he only eats them while they are growing in the garden and he gets in quite a bit of trouble for it, too.

I have a post about it called, "MURDER!"

Heather said...

I like Wilson! I know someone who feeds their dogs out of the compost bin... they'll eat cucumber peels, lettuce, carrots, etc..

Our last dog, Shasta, used to take herself to the fruit trees and pick up an apple or pear to eat when the mood struck her. I always got a kick out of that:)

Stefaneener said...

My beloved old Mack ate cooked broccoli like it was going out of style. He loved broccoli, but was so-so about other veggies. It's got to be good for them.

Ha on the cutting it up. You know you're well-trained when you do the cutting.

Annie*s Granny said...

What a sweetie...Wilson and your sister, for rescuing him.

Annie and Otto love green beans and carrots, raw or cooked. Annie loves broccoli. Surprisingly, neither one will eat summer squash. Cooked pumpkin (and I suppose any winter squash) is good for dogs, but I haven't tried it on my pups yet.

Bub said...

Wilson's such a sweetie, I wonder what his story was before your sister found him.

I don't have a dog, but my daughter does. Her dog eats strawberries, raspberries, banana, kiwi fruit, rice, pasta, carrots and peas. She also went rooting down my daughter's handbag, pulled out an apple and ran off with it to eat it. My daughter was laughing so hard, she couldn't tell her off, she took photos instead!

The Idiot said...

I don't have a dog, but if I did he certainly would not eat vegetables. Next thing you'll be making him wear a dress and dance the Charleston!

I have eaten dog, with vegetables, if that helps.

Erin said...

I love Wilson! Shelter dogs are the best, mine are rescues too. I have one dog that only eats carrots, but the other will eat raspberries off the vine, lettuce leaves, pea pods, you name it LOL! Sounds like Wilson is on easy street now, hugs to your sis for taking him in, if everyone would be so loving many of our problems would cease!

Jeff Vandiver said...

Great story! I think Wilson is definitely a cutie, and am glad that your sister rescued him...

Rowena said...

Wilson is cute, cute, cute! And yes, my dogs do eat veggies. Carrots top the list, then steamed zucchini comes second. They do adore fruit much more though. Say the word apple or watermelon and they come dashing back into the house expecting a snack.

Dan Owen said...

That is one smart dog! Your sister is lucky to have found and adopted Wilson. I like the name too!

Anna said...

Our dog Maya loves fruit and veggies. Bananas are her fav, but any veggies are right up there. She gets pretty miffed if we feed the rabbit fresh veggies and she doesn't get any. Maya is also into blueberry picking. She'll lay down right in the middle of a patch and eat away. Only the ripe ones, no green ones.
~Anna

http://familybacktoourroots.blogspot.com/

thyme2garden said...

Kimmi - if Wilson lived at my mom's house, I think he would try to eat the not-yet-harvested vegetables, too. He already went in the lettuce patch and dug up some holes. But my sister is determined to train him into a perfect little dog. We'll have to wait and see how it works out.

* * * * *
Heather - Our compost bin more resembles a trash can (with spoiled vegetables) rather than a container full of still-edibles. I don't think I would want any dog to eat out of our compost bin. Shasta probably thought the fruit trees were her own personal fruit buffet!

* * * * *
Stefaneener - but he was so cute! And he wanted bite sized pieces! OK, you're right, I guess he was training me in his own ways...

* * * * *
Granny - all the veggies I gave Wilson that weekend were raw. I wonder how he would do with cooked veggies.

* * * * *
Bub - we wondered about his previous owner(s), too. He seems so clean, well-behaved, and endearing, that it's hard to believe that anyone wouldn't want him anymore. He doesn't seem like the type who would run away, and if the previous owners just lost him in the neighborhood, I feel like they could have easily found him if they put half as much effort into looking for him as my sister put into trying to find his original owners.

* * * * *
The Idiot Gardener - eek, no, that doesn't help!

* * * * *
Erin - Thank you! That's exactly the way my sister feels.

* * * * *
Engineeredgarden - Thank you!

* * * * *
Rowena - I'm not sure about Wilson, but our Indiana dogs LOVE to eat fruit of just about any kind. It must be the sugar that they like. If we gave them one of those large supermarket watermelons weighing 25+ lbs, I'm sure they could each polish one off, easy.

* * * * *
Dan Owen - She really does think that she was lucky for finding him. I'm sure he feels the same way!

* * * * *
Anna - Maya sounds like a cutie, too! I wouldn't want to eat green blueberries, would you? :)

foodgardenkitchen said...

My dog will eat almost anything as long as it comes from my plate :) and is a reasonable portion (she's not eating oodles of veggies even if they are from my plate). She would never eat a carrot that big just laid out in front of her though.

Kudos to your sister for keeping the dog she found on the street! My pets are always from either the animal shelter or humane society as well. I have a fondness for certain types of mutts.

thyme2garden said...

foodgardenkitchen, it sounds like you have a pretty smart dog there, making sure she doesn't eat too much vegetables, so she can save room for other yummies from your plate. :)

The Apple Pie Gal said...

Awe! That is such a little cutie! How awesome that your sis had a great big huge furry heart for the guy!

The Apple Pie Gal said...

Awe! That is such a little cutie! How awesome that your sis had a great big huge furry heart for the guy!

Lexa said...

I love Wilson! And I think he does have Shiba Inu in him. I see folks walking 2 everyday and he really looks a lot like one. I found a great web-site on native turtle of Oregon www.oregonturtles.com/index.html
I think we had a Western Pond Turtle and by reading about him it says he sppends part of the year living in upland forested areas - whicj is what most of my 28 acres are. So maybe he didn't need saving after all!

Kiyi Kiyi said...

Awww Wilson is so cute! My puppy eats broccoli and green beans so far. She is very jealous of my bunnies - they get all sorts of veggies!

Kiyi Kiyi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
RandomGardener said...

Lovely dog! Great job by your sister rescuing that poor dog! God bless her!

Stephanie from GardenTherapy.ca said...

My dog will do almost anything for a fresh snap bean or pea!

Anonymous said...

I don't have a dog, but I think that learning a new thing in one day is very fast. That must be one very smart dog. And he is eating veggies, he knows what is good for him!

Dan said...

Ha, that's hilarious! I tried feeding my cat lettuce once, she wasn't impressed :-) The photos are nice, looks like you used a fisheye lens.

thyme2garden said...

The Apple Pie Gal - thank you!

* * * * *
Lexa - well, even if your turtle didn't need saving, I'm sure he enjoyed the ride in a car. :) He sure looked happy in that picture swimming in water!

* * * * *
Catalina - the wild bunnies in this neighborhood was also getting all kinds of veggies in my garden in the beginning. They may have enjoyed it, but I certainly didn't!

* * * * *
RandomGardener - Thank you!

* * * * *
Stevie - I think that's how this dog Wilson feels, too!

* * * * *
vrtlarica - yes, this Wilson seems to be a very intelligent and lucky dog.

* * * * *
Dan - cat and lettuce, hmm, somehow I don't see that happening. :) No fisheye lens here, just a plain old point and shoot digital camera. I got really close to the dog (inches away from his nose) to get the close-ups.

meemsnyc said...

Wilson is absolutely adorable. That is so awesome that your sister rescued him. And wow, that he eats carrots!

thyme2garden said...

meemsnyc - he really is kind of a cutie, isn't he?

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RA Tanvir ra said...

Most dogs really like fruits and will gladly take when offered. We will describe some types of fruits dogs really like and whether they are safe for them or not.

Click here for more information can dogs eat apples

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